Day-To-Day Life as a Lead Generating, Hopefully Inspiring, Copywriter.

Friday, March 31, 2017

Are You Engaging With Your Customers?

A change of tact.With my last post being a little bit serious, regarding depression, I thought it time to get back into the life blood of our businesses. Advertising. Whatever you do in this world, the only way people will find out about it is if you stick it right under their noses.

And create interest.

Show them you're the boss.

Make them take notice.

Do they want to hear more, or less from you?

We realised long ago that using a conversational-style of copywriting works better in today's market. Corporate speak is boring and, to be fair, usually incomprehensible. And long sales copy may have it's place, but I somehow feel it belongs to an era where everyone had more time. And we don't.Before everyone went online to buy all their toys, luxuries, groceries etc., we may well have spent five minutes reading through the junk mail posted through the door. And the dreaded call to action between every paragraph. Were we really that easily persuaded?And that letter might've been left on the counter, or fridge, for our spouses to have a read through over dinner. People had more time, they discussed it, summed up the pro's and con's between them. Not anymore...It's not to say I won't use a call to action, they're obviously needed, but it makes me cringe when I find them being thrown in, willy nilly, throughout sales copy. I maybe wrong, but I think most intelligent people, with very little time to waste on long, drawn-out sales spiel, would bin that sort of rubbish within five seconds. And I wouldn't blame them.We're online!Make every word count. Think about it. You've just rung an old friend for the first time in years. You don't chat about the fact they just drove home from the shops, had to stop for petrol and check tyre pressures, and it was pouring with rain which was really annoying (At least I hope you wouldn't chat about that). You'd talk about old times: Remember Tim? That time we got chased? I wonder what Sophie's doing now? We need to catch up at the King's Head. There's no time for boring tosh anymore, not if you want to sell your products, your service, YOU!So what are we going to do about it?Quite simply, we're going to write to people like they're normal human beings. Our friends, our families, the person behind the counter. It makes sense that when you're trying to talk to someone face to face you chat like they're a friend. You get a lot further doing that. Open persuasion puts up barriers. Like the pushy car sales guy. All you want to do is tell him to f@#k off. Be honest with yourself.Life is too fast-paced to be hit with a two-page essay on why you should buy the latest vacuum cleaner. We want reviews from customers, real people who can write in chatty spiel, within two lines, about how their lives have been changed:

I had my doubts, but this thing has made the day-to-day crap like housework so much easier. Now I have more fun and get to ride more.

John, Southport.

Bang! That's it. Job done.If two sentences from a stranger is enough to persuade you, why would a copywriter write pages of copy with twenty calls to action that would only impress an eighty-year old who grew up in that era?They shouldn't.So...

Keep it snappy, use a tone that suits modern conversation, text-speak if necessary. It all depends on your target audience. Don't go over the top, test it on friends and family if you have to.

Keep Calm

and

DON'T BORE THEM!

For help on all the above, pop over to benvaughancopy.com or give us a bell on (+61) 0403 210 654.P.S. Bloody calls to actions, pfft.